


Dandelion Wine

by NicoNightingale



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Young Albus Dumbledore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoNightingale/pseuds/NicoNightingale
Summary: Albus Dumbledore was bewildered when he was given a Hogwarts acceptance letter to be delivered to one Cecilia Hopper at the same place his childhood muggle friend, Chester Hopper, used to live.
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Dandelion Wine

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and the Warner Bros. Studios. The title of the story and the chapters were taken from the song "Dandelion Wine", by Blackmore's Night.
> 
> Flashbacks were written in italic.

"What're you reading there?" 

Albus Dumbledore looked up from his book to find a boy around his age leaning down to read the cover. The young wizard was sitting on the fence in front of his house in an attempt to escape from the loud environment inside.

Judging by his clothes, the other boy should definitely be a muggle. 

_When Kendra Dumbledore told her two sons that she found a new place for them to live, both Albus and Aberforth were relieved. In the few months following their father's arrest, their neighbours' eyes followed each member of the family whenever they left the house, either judgemental or compassionate._

_Albus was surprised, however, when his mother told them they would be moving from Mould-on-the-Wold to Godric's Hollow, a muggle-magical mixed community. He couldn't understand why his mother would want to live anywhere near muggles after some of them destroyed all sense of stability and happiness in their family._

_Of course, Albus had nothing against the non-magical folk as a rule. Being doted with above-average intelligence, he was aware that one couldn't hold all muggles responsible for the actions of few. Being around them, however, was difficult due to the explosive nature of his sister Arianna's condition — threatening not only to exposure magic but also putting defenceless people in danger._

_At her son's inquire's, Kendra explained that housing was much more expensive in purely magical communities, putting an end to every argument the boy had built in his mind. They really couldn't afford extravagant expenses._

_It didn't mean Albus wasn't worried about living in a mixed neighbourhood._

All these thoughts popped into his mind when he saw the muggle boy leaning in to read the title in the book's cover. "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne," he blinks a few times, clearly thoughtful. "Inventive— I mean, Verne is. Don't you think so?" 

Albus frowned. Despite his previous experiences with muggles, the boy had always been curious about the way their mind worked, the creative technology they built to compensate for their lack of magic. 

Verne's books had been a breath of fresh air, exploring themes that opposed to the ones common in wizarding works of literature — or the wizarding world, in general. He had never thought, however, that the author would be seen as inventive by muggles standards since he had figured they would be used to all sorts of machines.

Unable to find a response that wouldn't give away his ignorance about muggle's affairs, Albus shrugged and nodded in agreement before changing the course of the conversation to a more neutral territory. "Have you read his other books?"

"Only 'Around the World in Eighty Days' and 'The Mysterious Island', I'm afraid. The town's library is rather— lacking." The boy sighed heavily before straightening his back and reached out his hand to shake Albus', "I am Chester, by the way. Chester Hopper."

"Albus Dumbledore," the young wizard shook the other boy's hand, surprised at finding someone his age who had as much appreciation for books as he — as well as an extensive vocabulary for a child. "'Around the World in Eighty Days' was the first book by Verne that I have read."

"It is a classic," Chester nodded in agreement. "Have you read any other?"

Soon, Albus learned that all males of the Hopper family were either lawyers or university professors. As the first child of a first child, Chester was expected to have an education in business and law so he could, eventually, inherit his family's company founded by his great-grandfather. He had been encouraged to read and train his inquisitive mind to prepare himself for law school.

In a matter of a few conversations, Chester and Albus became inseparable. Not only the muggle shared his love for books and thirsty for knowledge but also understood the pain of losing a parent — although, unlike Percival, Callinda Hopper had died a few years previous of an unknown disease. 

Being friends with an intelligent and well-read muggle was refreshing albeit scary. Even though he was fairly certain that Chester would be more curious than frightened if he found out about magic, part of Albus constantly worried that he would turn out aggressive. Irrational considering that the boy was rather composed despite his usual energetic personality.

Not that the possibility of revealing his magical nature should be even considered since the Statute of Secrecy stated that such knowledge was illegal for muggles, one of the few rules the Ministry of Magic took seriously. 

The penalty for such crime was rather fresh in the Dumbledore family's mind after what happened to Arianna, which meant that they took even further measures to prevent it from happening. Chester was never allowed inside their house and, while Albus was permitted to visit his friend, three-years-younger Aberforth could only follow the two older boys around the street. Arianna's existence, however, was a secret the young wizards should not share.

While the two boys had no problem with playing with Aberforth and Chester's young sister Camilla, they took advantage of Kendra's rule whenever they wished to discuss their readings and engage into a more intellectual conversation. 

In a span of a few months, Albus couldn't picture a life away Chester's intelligent remarks and creative ideas. 

Yet, one year after moving to Godric's Hollow, Albus received a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. While the wizard was, admittedly, excited at the perspective of having his own wand and learning magic, his enthusiasm was subsided by the knowledge that he wouldn't be able to see his family and muggle friend for the better part of the next few years. 

As torn as the boy was, however, there was no other option for him but going. Kendra, Percival, and all of Albus' paternal ancestors had all received their education at Hogwarts, one of the best magical schools in Europe. Receiving the letter was an honour.

Accepting his fate, Albus told Chester that he had been accepted in a prestigious boarding school in Scotland, where both his parents had studied in their youth. Albeit distressed by the distance, however, the muggle was enthusiastic at the perspective of learning from important masters and got the wizard a promise to write often.

At first, Albus added a letter to Chester every time he wrote to his family. There wasn't much to tell, really, other than describing the few friends he had made, an overall impression of his Professors, and, although he couldn't talk about the specific subjects, the classes.

While the muggle tried to fill him in on the subjects he was learning at school and his friends, Albus had very little to tell.

His best friend at school was his dormmate, Elphias Doge, who was intelligent and knowledgeable but much preferred playing wizarding chess and Gobstones than doing homework and reading books. They made a good team, though, since Elphias was good at Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy, while Albus was more proficient in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The wizard, however, couldn't tell Chester about any of these details of his life at Hogwarts. He also had little to tell about his readings since the school's library offered a very limited collection of muggle books.

As the months passed, it grew harder and harder to find something to write to Chester that wouldn't break the Statute of Secrecy. He couldn't talk about excitement about Transfiguration and frustration towards the Flying lessons, or tell him that the History of Magic teacher was a boring ghost.

By the time Albus arrived home for the summer holidays after his first year, the two boys realized they had very little in common and, in the years following, grew more and more distant.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter to be uploaded soon.


End file.
